Nurse Training Places to Increase by 10% in Wales

The Welsh Labour Government has said that the number of nurse training places will increase by 10% in 2016-17 as part of an £85m investment package in the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Welsh Labour’s Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford has announced thatnurse training places will rise by 135 in 2016-17 to 1,418 - an increase of 10%, on top of the 22% increase in 2015-16. This will be the highest level of nurse training places in Wales since devolution. The number of people directly employed by NHS Wales now stands at 84,000, an increase of a third since the Assembly was established in 1999.

Details of the £85m investment package include:

An increase of more than 10% in physiotherapy training places, on top of the 26% increase in 2015-16.

An increase of more than 10% in diagnostic radiography training places, on top of the 26% increase in 2015-16 and a 5% rise in therapeutic radiographers.

Last year the Welsh Government increased the number of places available for clinical scientists by 52% and this year will be expanding investment in healthcare science programmes, including additional training places in genomics, medical physics, biomedical engineering, molecular pathology, bioinformatics, microbiology and lab genetics

Investment to support the development of healthcare support workers - an increase to £1.5m. This will help people gain the right knowledge and skills to deliver care and support career development

The package of funding will enable 2,697 new students to undertake education and training programmes in 2016-17 compared to 2,498 in 2015-16. Including those who will be continuing their education, this means the total number of students and training places for 2016-17 is 7,384 compared to 6,881 in 2015-16.

As well as training new entrants, this investment will fund training opportunities for existing staff to build their skills and ensure opportunities exist for individuals who, for a variety of reasons, have taken a break from their careers.